Hallowed Halloween

Halloween (and Fall in general) is a favorite time of the year here. This year has been a bit hectic. MarKay is working a busy schedule, my company is seeking new clients and Ben is winding up his year long journey to Japan after only two months. My usual Halloween rituals have had to take a back seat to more urgent activities, but I have tried to keep the season alive for the family.

Pumpkin carving is something I've engaged in since MarKay and I moved into our current home. It was not a tradition in the Appel house, but she and Ben had carved pumpkins and toasted the seeds in previous years. I quickly got the knack for it and it's a yearly tradition now. Harry's had a great special on carving pumpkins this year, so we ended up with three. MarKay created an owl-o-lantern, Sean had me do a Venom face on his-- he's trick or treating as black costumed Spiderman this year-- I just made up an evil grin for mine, and the cat joined in but refused to pose.

My son Sean, who last year would not watch the original King Kong (the first dino scene was too scary), sat through Jurassic Park and loved it. We've since watched the sequel, which he was not as thrilled with. The third is airing later this week, which saves me a rental on a movie I don't care for. To continue the prehistoric monster theme, I chose a favorite horror film from my childhood. I enhanced it for my wife with a meal that hinted at the title (MarKay loves a theme experience.) The meal was made up of fish sticks (lord knows what's in 'em) served with black beans cooked with onion and sazon, but with some soy beans added to the mix. Puzzle that out, if you like, the answer can be highlighted below.

Sea Creature with some Black Legumes

The meal was well received and we worked a jigsaw puzzle with the movie's main character-- a gift from Lanny Lathem from years back-- but the film did not fare as well. Sean may never warm to black and white movies, and the effects, while impressive in their day, did not win him over.

Speaking of Lanny, we also found time to make up some of the Halloween snack mix recipe that he got from a co-worker. Mix 1 large jar of salted peanuts, one package of candy corn and one package of cinnamon imperials (red hots.) Try to get just the right mix in every bite for a salty-sweet-spicy treat. It sounds odd, but it works...

Anyway, I probably won't be watching any more classic horror movies this year, but I am having fun with a computer game from 2005 that Ben left behind called F.E.A.R. It's a really spiffy first person shooter by the folks at Monolith (who brought us the campy spy shooter, No One Lives Forever--a favorite of mine.) F.E.A.R. deals with a paramilitary unit that investigates paranormal trouble. It's well put together with some excellent use of ambient sound and some creepy "glimpsed out of the corner of your eye" visuals that make you jump. There are some genuine hair standing on your neck moments to this game. Very cool.

Sean's Spidey costume is store bought this year; MarKay doesn't have the time to whip up a masterpiece from her sewing drawer. I usually pull out an old Aurora kit to work on, but that too will have to wait for a year with more leisure time. Ben won't be here for the ritual smashing of the pumpkins with a sword-- his own tradition that he enjoys with Sean as a spectator. Still, I'm glad to have shared a few carved pumpkins and some monsters with my family. We'll round it out with trick or treating this Wednesday night. I hope you all have a happy Halloween this year.